Investing.com - U.S. stocks closed mixed Wednesday, however sustained hopes for further action by the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank to stimulate growth continued to support market sentiment.
At the close of U.S. trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.05%, the S&P 500 index added 0.06%, while the Nasdaq Composite index declined 0.15%.
A Federal Reserve official on Tuesday kept alive hopes for central bank intervention by saying the Fed should launch an aggressive bond-buying program to aid the economy until unemployment begins to fall.
Meanwhile, markets were eyeing the ECB amid expectations the bank will soon take steps to help lower Spanish and Italian borrowing costs, after bank head Mario Draghi indicated last week that the ECB may restart its bond buying program.
The ECB said action would be conditional on euro zone governments experiencing difficulty on bond markets activating the bloc’s bailout funds to purchase government bonds and accepting strict conditions and supervision.
Financial stocks were broadly lower, led by Goldman Sachs, down 0.74%, while Citigroup and JP Morgan declined 0.38% and 0.22% respectively.
Shares in Morgan Stanley also retreated 0.21% amid reports the bank may be under pressure to close its brokerage offices and lay off supporting staff.
Also on the downside, McDonald’s tumbled 2.57%, after the fast food giant posted flat same-store sales in July, mostly hurt by the debt crisis in the euro zone, disappointing market expectations.
Among earnings, Disney edged down 0.06% after saying it posted earnings that beat expectations, but revenue was lighter than expected.
Priceline saw shares dive 14.24% after the online travel company handed in a disappointing guidance for the current quarter and after at least 11 analysts lowered their price targets on the firm.
On the upside, Hewlett-Packard rallied 3.69% after the tech giant raised its third-quarter earnings guidance above analysts’ estimates.
Other stocks in focus included NewsCorp, scheduled to post earnings after the closing bell.
At the close of European trade, the EURO STOXX 50 dropped 0.33%, France’s CAC 40 declined 0.43%, while Germany’s DAX 30 retreated 0.03%.
Traders are awaiting the U.S. trade balance and initial jobless claims, as well as Bank of Japan’s press conference , China’s industrial production and the ECB’s monthly report on Thursday.